


And They Called It Love

by LiliaR



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Awkward Flirting, Dating, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Love, Fluff, Give me a chance anyways, I'll add more tags as I think of them, Implied/Referenced Sex, Love, Love Confessions, Original Fiction, Romance, Sad Ending, Self-Esteem Issues, Texting, sort of., this is just a vent fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:00:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23338786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiliaR/pseuds/LiliaR
Summary: It's the gorgeous naivety of first love and it's best and worst moments.Love and pain are interconnected, one brings the other brings the other.This is what makes it so appealing, she decides.It's the story of two people, and their landmarks.Two people just as human as the rest of us.Love is beautiful and love is pain.Yet we pursue it.It's only human.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character





	And They Called It Love

**Author's Note:**

> There is recurrent references of self-esteem issues from the two characters. If this could trigger you then please proceed with caution.  
> Also, the style of this first chapter, especially in the first half, is very cadence-y. This is because it's their beginning, it's their start, and it's in the past. It's happened. It's just the facts of their beginning.  
> Stick with it, there are more lovingly crafted phrases on the horizon. I can only give as much love to the sentences as they're meant to convey.
> 
> That said, thank you for giving this OC story a chance, I know non-fandom works rarely win clicks on this website. Thank you for being here, for giving this a chance.  
> Sometimes we need a story to remind us that feelings are universal, that we can all feel.
> 
> Take care, I love you.

A Hallmark kind of meet-cute. She would pretend someday that she knew about him before, but she didn’t. She knew his name, maybe, but not him. They didn’t exist to each other yet.   
He would tell her that he liked her since the year before, she would laugh and call him a liar, and she would wonder if he was pretending in the same way she was. She decided that even if he was, it didn’t really matter. She would always be curious about the truth, though.

*****

**[Shop GANG :P]**  
_October 15th, 2018 8:35 PM_

Hey, I broke it again...

you broke it?

Sorry. How do I get the hinge to move smoothly?

It’s jammed I think

what happened

The arm won’t rotate. I was fixing that loose part  
by adjusting it to the left like we talked about but  
it’s not moving anymore, it’s stuck in place

did you block the joint when you moved  
it, sometimes it gets in the way

The orange piece?

yes that one

Oh. Ha, my bad everyone. That rotated out of   
place when I moved the screw..

youre good

Yea says you, I bet you’re totally making fun  
of me behind that screen of yours

definitely am not

**[Leo Anderson]**  
_October 15th, 2018 8:50 PM_

definitely am  
you’re a dummy

You jerk! I knew you would be >:(

Why’d you say that here instead of the gc?

i didn’t want to annoy everyone  
it’s better if we just chat here right?

Yea you’re right, I wouldn’t want to be  
annoying

too late :O

You’re so mean to me :(

comes with the job :)

 *****

They would talk for hours, under the guise of their shop work, though the conversations were about nothing in particular. They both relished in the blissful emptiness of their exchanges. It went on for weeks that way, and the conversations began to gain meaning. Leo would tell her about his newest thing, she would listen and gush with him. She would comfort him through his problems. He would return the favor.  
  
He makes fun of her for using light mode on her phone. She insists it reflects her mood. He agrees silently, but teases her nonetheless. It’s nice.

 *****

“Hey, Lila?” He calls her over to look at his project. She decides she likes the way he says her name. His project is garbage and she tells him so. He laughs and reminds her that hers isn’t any better. She agrees, and it feels right to laugh at their mistakes.   
He hates being called out on his failures. He pushes that feeling aside. She doesn’t mean any harm, and the moment is peaceful. Besides his embarrassment, he enjoys the joke. Friendship is warm, and he treasures their moments together.

*****

She likes him, she decides. Of course, she liked him before, but she liked him more than she originally thought. He listened to her, and she enjoyed listening to him. The feeling was new and she loved it. She assigns him a special ring tone. It would give her butterflies in the most beautiful way. She prompts him to say something that would mean he felt the same. He does.

**[Leo Anderson]**  
_November 8th, 2018 7:23 PM_

So do you like anyone right now or what?

what, like a crush

Duh, come on I’ll tell you mine if you say  
who yours is ;)

i mean yea there’s someone

but it’s embarassing!!! no way i’ll give you  
the satisfaction of knowing :P

booo. You’re no fun

 *****

It stings to know there’s someone else. Lila feels the pain in her heart. She thinks she’ll move on, but hates the indirect rejection. She tries to smile through it, knowing is better than not knowing.   
His crush, of course, is her. He was still too scared to admit it. He always thought she was too good for him, he would tell her as much later on. Rejection was the scariest thing he could think of, and he wasn’t ready to face rejection from her yet. 

*****

He would gain the courage eventually. A mutual friend would push them together, ensure him she liked him as well. So he would ask.  
“Lila?” His voice does poorly to cover his nerves.  
“What’s up?” She hopes this is it, that he would ask.  
“Ah nevermind. I forgot what I was going to say.” He didn’t forget. She’s disappointed he hasn’t asked.

*****

He invites her around the corner of the hall. It’s quiet and loud at the same time.  
“Hey, so I wanted to tell you something.” Leo starts. She only gives him a prompting look. She’s concerned. “Listen, I like you. More than friends kind of like you.” He says it quickly. He’s embarrassed. Suddenly he thinks this was a mistake, he’s about to be rejected. His face goes red. There’s a pause between them, made unbearably longer by the tension. She blinks hard and quickly shakes her hands in front of her.  
“Oh my god really?” She asks, but doesn’t give him the chance to respond. “Me too. I mean, I like you too.” She’s a fast talker, but she’s barely comprehensible as she spits out her response in her shock. He looks like he’s buffering.  
“Oh.” He manages to form the solitary syllable through his shock-paralyzed lips. He pushes them together and rolls them out to release the tension. This isn’t rejection and he’s completely surprised. “That’s good, thank you.”  
She laughs, a silly response, she notes. They part ways for the day, sporting blush dusted cheeks for the rest of the day. Their excited smiles remain fixed on their faces until their cheeks get tired.

*****

**[Leo Anderson]**  
_November 16th, 2018 6:23 PM_

Was that you asking me out?

yes

Good, then I accept your offer.

*****

She smiles at her phone. He feels it.


End file.
